1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction industry and, in particular, concerns a method of interconnecting building members with paired connectors and tie rods.
2. Description of the Related Art
In typical residential and light industrial and commercial building frame wall construction, load bearing frame walls comprise a series of studs and posts that are anchored to the foundation and covered with sheathing material installed over both sides of the frame. Typically, the frame is constructed from a number of vertically extending studs that are positioned between and connected to horizontally extending top and bottom plates. The bottom plate and the vertical studs are typically anchored to the foundation by some means. The sheathing material, which can be plywood, gypsum wallboard, siding, plaster, or the like, is then attached over the studs.
Natural forces commonly impose vertical and horizontal forces on the structural elements of the buildings. These forces can be the result of earth movements in an earthquake and from high-velocity winds, as in a hurricane or tornado. If these forces exceed the structural capacity of the building, they can cause structural failures leading to anything from minor damage to catastrophic destruction of the building, attendant economic loss, and injuries or fatalities.
The typical method of interconnecting the stories of a building is to use lengths of coil strap to tie the studs of an upper to story to the studs of the story below. The disadvantages of coil strap are manifold. Coil strap cannot be installed within a wall because of the intervening sill plates. Coil strap cannot accommodate any offset in the upper and lower studs. Wood shrinkage after strap installation across horizontal wood members can cause the strap to buckle outward. Coil strap is a general-purpose utility strap that is not tailored to the specific connection. Vertically-paired holdowns can eliminate some of the disadvantages of the coil strap, but holdowns are typically engineered for higher load values that are necessary in a floor-to-floor connection and therefore waste material and increase costs.